“As the new president of Alfa Insurance, I’m asking that you give us another chance to earn your business,” company President Jimmy Parnell writes in the letter. Parnell was elected president in December.

Changes in complex underwriting guidelines made it possible to attempt to bring many of those whose policies were “non-renewed” back into the fold, said Alfa communications director Jeff Helms.

Jimmy Parnell

The majority of the policies that were cut in 2011 were policies for multiple rental properties or for multi-tenant houses. All of the 10,000 policies the company is trying to win back were for individual homeowners.

It’s too soon to know how many former policyholders will give the company a second chance, Helms said today.

“We certainly understand that some of them … may not choose to work with Alfa,” he said. “But we’re asking those loyal customers to give Alfa another chance to win their business.”

The company tried to accommodate those who held multi-tenant or multiple-home policies by steering them to commercial policies that Alfa agents could write on behalf of other companies, Helms said. And the decision to not renew the policies in 2011 was not entirely a result of the April 27 tornadoes that resulted in more than $3 billion in insurance claims in Alabama.

“Those non-renewals were a long-term decision of Alfa, not a reaction to (the storms in) April,” he said. “The weather had an impact, but it was years of storm after storm after storm.”

Insurers have been reducing the number of policies in hurricane-prone areas nationally because of steep losses.

In his letter to the customers the company is trying to win back Parnell writes that he traveled the state after the April tornadoes and met first-hand policy holders who were disappointed to lose their coverage.

“We want to regain your trust by renewing our commitment to reward loyal customers with great service and competitive rates,” he writes. “My goal is to find a way to say ‘Yes.’ Please contact your local Alfa office and give us a chance to demonstrate the values that made our company great.”